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Do I need BMW Assist with enhanced Bluetooth and USB? What's it give me that I don't get automatically?

I don't need cover art or toys, but being able to play songs from an ipod would be nice.

What phone/phone book access do I gain with the package that doesn't come with the car?

Thanks!

Enhanced Bluetooth/USB:
- dual channel Bluetooth: two phones paired at the same time, both phones can receive but only one (primary) can make calls via iDrive
- Bluetooth Audio
- Album Art via USB
- use of white Apple USB cable (only apllicable to iPods/iPhones obviously)

i think you can still use an ios device with cable on a non bmw assist car. just the interface i think is different, and you dont get cover art and such.

in my opinion the only real thing you get is a2dp streaming and the actual on star like service that you have to pay for. if you have bmw apps and nav you get the google maps send to nav feature.

i'd try my ipod at a car at a dealer that doesnt have it and see if im happy with it. like i would have liked a2dp , but didnt get bmw assist since it didnt seem worth it for just that (i dont have an ios device though, so it had even less appeal).

"BMW has raised automatic crash notification to a new level. The on-board BMW Assist telematics system already calls 911 after a crash, just as many other brands do. But BMWs can also report to the 911 call center the likely severity of occupant injuries, and now BMW says it can transmit the injury information to a nearby hospital trauma center. BMW's enhanced automatic collision notification (enhanced ACN or EACN) uses a sophisticated set of algorithms to instantly read the car's crash sensor data and make an informed estimate of how to respond to the accident – police car? ambulance? helicopter? – and what injuries to look for when the victims get to the hospital or trauma center. That quick response has the potential to save thousands of lives.

You're in luck if you have your car crash in Miami, in a BMW. It's where BMW and the University of Miami's William Lehman Injury Research Center have a cooperative project to wring out enhanced ACN. BMW has worked with the Lehman Center since 2001 and now they're midway through a three-year project that began in October 2009 to gather data on crashes and the value of quick, appropriate response and treatment during the golden hour, or the first hour after the crash.

If you can get the victim stabilized and to a trauma center within an hour of a bad crash, the odds of survival and recovery are highest. The most recent announcement, this week at the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference in National Harbor, Md., extends BMW's ability to transmit extensive crash information not just to the 911 system but also directly to hospital trauma centers, starting with Miami's Ryder Trauma Center.

With the current automatic crash notification that's on most telematics-equipped cars (meaning they have integrated on-board cellphones for data as well as voice, such as GM's OnStar), here's what happens in a crash: The car senses the severity of impact, the angle of impact, multiple impacts (crash and rollover), which airbags deployed, and whether the occupants are belted, says Peter Baur, manager of product analysis at BMW of North America. But there's no interpretation of the data beyond: airbags-went-bang-send-help-to-this-geographic-coordinate. Police would respond (often just a patrol car), check out the crash, then call for an ambulance or occasionally a medical helicopter, then, says Baur, "EMS would drop off the trauma patient, but not necessarily [describe] what the accident looked like." Meanwhile, in the most severe cases, the clock is running down on that golden hour.

With enhanced ACN, Baur says, "We collect the sensor data, massage it, evaluate it," and then draw conclusions as to the likely severity of the accident, the odds of severe injury, even the chances of serious hidden injuries. That enhanced ACN information is what BMW and sibling Rolls-Royce transmit via the BMW call center to the nation's 6,100 public safety answering points (PSAPs, or 911 call centers) and now to Miami's Ryder Trauma Center for a Miami-area accident. Other automakers also have just as many sensors on their cars, incidentally - but they don't yet analyze and make recommendations based on the crash data."

side note - BMW has offered to share this technology for free with any other manufacturer that wants to use it, but no other manufacturer has seen fit to take them up on the offer.

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Do I need BMW Assist with enhanced Bluetooth and USB? What's it give me that I don't get automatically?

I don't need cover art or toys, but being able to play songs from an ipod would be nice.

What phone/phone book access do I gain with the package that doesn't come with the car?

Thanks!

First off, welcome aboard.

You want to get this feature, especially if you're buying the car and plan to keep it more than 3 years. The only way you'll ever get any of the advanced functionality that future smart phones will have you need to get this, perhaps BMW Apps too.

Otherwise, you'll be like all those 2010 BMW E90 owners who said "Bluetooth? I don't need no stinkin' Bluetooth, I can just make calls by hand, no worries."

I have enhanced bluetooth in our other car and found I didn't stream audio much at all.
If you opt out of this like I did, pick up a cheep small Flash drive and lode your songs on it. This will take up no space in your arm rest compartment and you can just leave it there until you want new music.

This one will set you back a whopping 12 bucks.

The file browser works great through idrive and you don't have to mess with wires / charging / streaming.
Bluetooth works fantastic so no worries there either.

I had BMW Assist on my "d" and have its Mercedes equivalent on my Bluetec.Having worked for years in a large hospital's ER I know that seconds *can* mean the difference between life and death.Automatic Accident Notification alone is worth the price of admission.All the other features are just icing on the cake.

People with Kia Souls have Bluetooth, rear view cameras, and Nav systems. Of course, they are the ugliest cars on the planet too, but my point is that if you're spending $40k on a car and not getting that kind of stuff, I just question if you're buying the right car in the first place.